Amazon Alexa is one of the most well-known voice assistants on the planet — and one of its many capabilities includes the option of changing its wake word. In just a handful of years, digital assistants have gone from being a weird niche to a mainstream feature. Siri is on all of Apple's devices, Google Assistant offers help at a moment's notice, and there's whatever Samsung is doing with Bixby. Among all of those, Alexa stands out as one of the most popular.
There are multiple reasons for Alexa's success. Amazon was pretty early to the voice assistant scene when it launched the first Echo in 2014. It's spent the years since then expanding Alexa's features, integrating the AI into as many form factors as possible, and making gadgets like the Echo Dot extremely affordable. There's also the fact that 'Alexa' is just a lot more memorable than something like 'Google Assistant' or 'Bixby.'
Here's the thing, though: Not everyone is a fan of the Alexa name. It's iconic and synonymous with Amazon's Echo speakers, but it's not the only way users can address these devices. For someone tired of saying 'Alexa' all the time, changing the assistant's wake word is straightforward. Go to an Alexa speaker/smart display, say 'Alexa, change wake word,' and listen to the list of available options. Say the wake word you want to change it to, and that's all there is to it!
How To Change Alexa's Wake Word On Your Smartphone
Additionally, users can change their Alexa wake word from the Alexa mobile app on their smartphone. Open the app, tap 'More,' tap 'Settings,' tap 'Device Settings,' and tap the Alexa device you want to change the wake word for. From here, tap the gear icon at the top-right of the screen, scroll down, tap 'Wake Word,' and choose from any of the available options. Outside of the default 'Alexa' wake word, users can also choose Amazon, Computer, Echo, and Ziggy. Occasionally, there will be Celebrity Wake Words to use (for example, a 'Hey Santa' wake word during the Christmas season).
Once a new wake word is selected, that's how the Alexa speaker will respond from that point forward. If someone chooses 'Ziggy,' they'll now say 'Ziggy' instead of 'Alexa' to issue commands and ask questions. It's worth remembering that changing the wake word applies on a device-by-device basis. If someone has multiple Amazon Echo gadgets in their home and wants to remove the Alexa wake word completely, they'll need to update the wake word on each device.
Source: Amazon